Anxiety, depression, and stress in a high-risk college environment: Improving heart rate variability and neurocardiac signaling to prevent relapse

Chronic stress increases cortisol and corticosteroid levels, and reduces heart rate variability (HRV), compromising immune function and heightening anxiety and depression. Reduced HRV decreases people ’s ability to appropriately modulate affective reactivity to the environment, contributing to chronic stress; alcohol and drug misuse further reduces HRV. Effective relapse prevention following addiction treatment needs to interrupt this cycle, yet often is limited to the psychosocial aspects of a ffect and stress management.

Source: Alcohol - May 1, 2017 Category: Addiction Authors: David Eddie, Nour Alayan, Fiona Conway, Marsha Bates Source Type: research